He Was a Team Player — But His Teammate Never Told Him the Rules | Justin’s Story

Narcissist Apocalypse: Patterns of Abuse

Abuse Survivor Network

Relationships, Education, True Crime, Society & Culture, Self-improvement

4.7 • 792 Ratings

🗓️ 22 February 2026

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, Justin shares the story of a relationship where he believed he was part of a team — until he realized he had been navigating it alone. What began as a promising relationship with his second wife quickly accelerated into a rushed engagement, marriage, and parenthood. Justin noticed early red flags — overreactions that left him feeling off balance and growing control over their finances that he struggled to fully understand. Still, he believed in working through challenges, trusting that commitment meant showing up, adapting, and doing his part. But over time, the emotional and financial pressure intensified. Justin found himself increasingly isolated, carrying responsibility while losing clarity and stability. As he worked harder to keep things together, the reality beneath the surface became harder to ignore.

Transcript

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0:00.0	On this episode of Narcissist Apocalypse, we talk with an abuse survivor named Justin,
0:08.7	and Justin was married to a controlling drill sergeant.
0:12.6	It's a story of being a team player, accusations, isolation, fear, loss of identity, and financial control.
0:43.9	Welcome to Narcissist Apocalypse, everyone.
0:49.3	I am Brandon Chadwick, and with me today, we have Justin.
0:50.2	How are you?
0:52.3	I'm very good.
0:52.9	Thank you.
0:53.7	Thanks for having me.
0:58.6	Well, thank you for being here. And if you want to be a guest like Justin is today,
1:04.4	go to our website at Narcissistapocalypse.com, click on the guest form at the top of the page and submit our form, or send us an email at Narcissist Apocalypse at p.m.m.
1:14.0	Also at our website, we have a new newsletter,
1:20.5	and you can receive a free workbook from this episode in all future episodes, and you can also find that at Narcissistapocalypse.com as well, and we do have a content warning for today's.
1:26.1	We do discuss childhood sexual abuse in this episode. So that is your content warning for today.
1:32.3	And today you're going to hear Justin's story and Justin's relationship moved pretty quickly.
1:37.7	He didn't really have time to think. And the team player in him just took over. And he became very accommodating to every demand or accusation,
1:47.3	no matter how out there it was. He just kept conforming until he was unrecognizable to himself
1:54.1	anymore. And I think he'll validate a lot of you out there today. So a big thank you to Justin
1:59.3	for being here with us today.
2:01.1	And now I'm going to get out of my way and your way. Justin, the floor is now yours.
2:08.5	Well, thank you so much for having me. I guess I can start with a little bit of who I am. And my
2:15.0	backstory is that I'm from Portland, Oregon.
	...

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